It was far from a sure thing: a serialized television series inspired by Joel and Ethan Coen's bloody, darkly hilarious and Oscar-winning 1996 crime story "Fargo."

But the televised "Fargo," created by Noah Hawley, turned out to be a hit with audiences and critics last year, with the FX series' first season earning 18 Emmy nominations and three wins, including outstanding miniseries, as well as a pair of Golden Globes: best mini-series or motion picture made for television and best performance by an actor in a mini-series or a motion picture made for television for Billy Bob Thornton.

However, the series' sizable fan base didn't include Patrick Wilson, at least not at first. Wilson, a Virginia native who now calls Montclair home, earned Golden Globe and Emmy nominations for his breakout work in HBO's 2003 mini-series "Angels in America," and he leads the cast in the new season of "Fargo," set to premiere at 10 p.m. Oct. 12.

“I didn't see it until I got this job," Wilson said of "Fargo." "My blanket statement (is) I don’t watch a lot of TV, so it wasn’t out of arrogance, it was out of ignorance. I’m just not a big TV guy, so I didn’t watch it. But I think they did all the legwork for it because I was like many people going, ‘This is one of my most revered and favorite movies. How on earth are they going to do a TV show?’

“And then, I read that Billy Bob was on board. I was not familiar with Noah’s work, and once I read that Billy Bob was on board, I’d done a movie with Billy (2004's 'The Alamo'), and thought, ‘Wow, if he’s on board then it must be good.’ You can thank Billy and Colin (Hanks) and all those guys for setting the tone and setting the bar because I felt like all of those ‘Oh, it will never work’ (questions) were quickly answered and shot down last year. So we’re just happy to carry the success.”

The second season of "Fargo" turns back the clock to 1979 and finds Wilson starring as state trooper and Vietnam veteran Lou Solverson, a character played in the series' first season by Keith Carradine.

“I was never in this situation before, playing somebody playing somebody," Wilson said. "And I have great respect for Keith and early on I asked Noah, ‘Do you want me to work on my Keith Carradine impression?’ But he was very quick to say, ‘Don’t get caught up in that. Do what you need to do. We’re at a different point in Lou’s life.' ... I think Lou’s a grounded, strong man, an earnest man, that is the same (consistency), but a lot of that’s in the writing. So that enabled me to make my own character.”

Ted Danson as Hank Larsson (left) and Patrick Wilson as Lou Solverson in the second season of "Fargo."(Photo: Courtesy of Chris Large/FX)

With a cast that includes Point Pleasant native Kirsten Dunst, Tony-winning Cherry Hill native Cristin Milioti, Ted Danson, Nick Offerman and Bruce Campbell, "Fargo" ably translates the Coen Brothers' tricky, gleefully grim tone to television. In Wilson's hands, Lou Solverson falls in line with the Coens' tradition of in-over-their-heads protagonists that includes Tommy Lee Jones and Josh Brolin in "No Country For Old Men" (2007), John Turturro in "Barton Fink" (1991), even Jeff Bridges in "The Big Lebowski" (1998).

“There is that through-line of trying to both catch the criminals and save the people who are in over their head, which is a lot of Tommy Lee Jones in ‘No Country,'" said Wilson. "But I think Lou also fits that profile. There’s enough humor in there that makes him interesting the dark comedy Coen Brothers sense, but there’s a strength in him that builds as the season goes that’s pretty thrilling."

Patrick Wilson as Lou Solverson in the second season of "Fargo."(Photo: Courtesy of Mathias Clamer/FX)